Coated article and method for making the same

ABSTRACT

A coated article is described. The coated article includes a substrate, a combining layer formed on the substrate, a plurality of chromium nitride layers and a plurality of copper-zinc alloy layers formed on the combining layer. The combining layer is a chromium layer. Each chromium nitride layer interleaves with one copper-zinc alloy layer. A method for making the coated article is also described.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is one of the four related co-pending U.S. patent applications listed below. All listed applications have the same assignee. The disclosure of each of the listed applications is incorporated by reference into the other listed applications.

Attorney Docket No. Title Inventors US 35705 COATED ARTICLE AND METHOD HSIN-PEI CHANG FOR MAKING THE SAME et al. US 35707 COATED ARTICLE AND METHOD HSIN-PEI CHANG FOR MAKING THE SAME et al. US 35708 COATED ARTICLE AND METHOD HSIN-PEI CHANG FOR MAKING THE SAME et al. US 35709 COATED ARTICLE AND METHOD HSIN-PEI CHANG FOR MAKING THE SAME et al.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to coated articles, particularly to a coated article having an antibacterial effect and a method for making the coated article.

2. Description of Related Art

To make the living environment more hygienic and healthy, a variety of antibacterial products have been produced by coating antibacterial metal films on the substrate of the products. The metal may be copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), or silver (Ag). However, the coated metal films are soft and poorly bond to the substrate, so the metal films are prone to abrasion. Moreover, the metal ions within the metal films rapidly dissolve from killing bacterium, so the metal films always have a short useful lifespan.

Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Many aspects of the disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following figures. The components in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale, the emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a coated article.

FIG. 2 is an overlook view of an exemplary embodiment of a vacuum sputtering device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 shows a coated article 100 according to an exemplary embodiment. The coated article 100 includes a substrate 10, a combining layer 20 formed on the substrate 10, a plurality of chromium nitride (CrN) layers 30 and a plurality of copper-zinc (Cu—Zn) alloy layers 40 formed on the combining layer 20. Each CrN layer 30 alternates/interleaves with one Cu—Zn alloy layer 40. One of the CrN layers 30 is directly formed on the combining layer 20. Furthermore, one of the CrN layers 30 also forms the outermost layer of the coated article 100. Therefore, there is typically one more CrN layer 30 than there are Cu—Zn alloy layers 40. The total thickness of the CrN layers 30 and the Cu—Zn alloy layers 40 may be of about 1 μm-8 μm. The total number of the CrN layers 30 may be about 5 layers to about 21 layers. The total number of the Cu—Zn alloy layers 40 may be about 4 layers to about 20 layers. As mentioned above, due to one of the CrN layers 30 also forming the outermost layer of the coated article 100, there is typically one more CrN layer 30 than there are Cu—Zn alloy layers 40.

The substrate 10 may be made of stainless steel or chromium (Cr) contained alloys.

The combining layer 20 may be a chromium (Cr) layer formed on the substrate 10 by vacuum sputtering. The combining layer 20 has a thickness of about 100 nm-200 nm.

The CrN layers 30 may be formed by vacuum sputtering. Each CrN layer 30 may have a thickness of about 50 nm-100 nm. The CrN layers 30 have a porous structure, in which a plurality of tiny holes (not shown) are formed. Additionally, the CrN layers 30 are abrasion and corrosion resistant, which provides the coated article 100 good abrasion and corrosion resistance properties. Moreover, the outermost CrN layer 30 provides the coated article 100 colorful appearance.

The Cu—Zn alloy layers 40 may be formed by vacuum sputtering. Each Cu—Zn alloy layer 40 may have a thickness of about 200 nm-300 nm. Each Cu—Zn alloy layer 40 has a portion that imbeds in the porous structure (or the tiny holes) of the adjacent two CrN layers 30. As such, the Cu—Zn alloy layers 40 are securely attached to the CrN layers 30 and the copper ions or zinc ions within the Cu—Zn alloy layers 40 will not be dissolved rapidly, thus the Cu—Zn alloy layers 40 have persisting antibacterial effect. Furthermore, the outermost CrN layer 30 will protect the Cu—Zn alloy layers 40 from abrasion, which further prolongs the antibacterial effect of the coated article 100.

A method for making the coated article 100 may include the following steps:

The substrate 10 is pre-treated, such pre-treating process may include the following steps:

The substrate 10 is cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaning device (not shown) filled with ethanol or acetone.

The substrate 10 is plasma cleaned. Referring to FIG. 2, the substrate 10 may be positioned in a coating chamber 21 of a vacuum sputtering device 200. The coating chamber 21 is fixed with chromium targets 23 and Cu—Zn alloy targets 25. The coating chamber 21 is then evacuated to about 4.0×10⁻³ Pa. Argon gas (Ar) having a purity of about 99.999% may be used as a working gas and is fed into the coating chamber 21 at a flow rate of about 100 standard-state cubic centimeters per minute (sccm) to 300 sccm. The substrate 10 may have a bias voltage of about −200 V to about −800 V, then high-frequency voltage is produced in the coating chamber 21 and the argon gas is ionized to plasma. The plasma then strikes the surface of the substrate 10 to clean the surface of the substrate 10. Plasma cleaning of the substrate 10 may take about 3 minutes (min)-10 min. The plasma cleaning process enhances the bond between the substrate 10 and the combining layer 20. The chromium targets 23 and the Cu—Zn alloy targets 25 are unaffected by the pre-cleaning process.

The combining layer 20 may be magnetron sputtered on the pretreated substrate 10 by using a direct current power for the chromium targets 23. Magnetron sputtering of the combining layer 20 is implemented in the coating chamber 21. The inside of the coating chamber 21 is heated to about 80° C.-150° C. Argon gas may be used as a working gas and is fed into the coating chamber 21 at a flow rate of about 100 sccm-300 sccm. The direct current power is applied to the chromium targets 23, and then chromium atoms are sputtered off from the chromium targets 23 to deposit the combining layer 20 on the substrate 10. During the depositing process, the substrate 10 may have a bias voltage of about −50 V to about −150 V. Depositing of the combining layer 20 may take about 5 min-10 min.

One of the CrN layers 30 may be magnetron sputtered on the combining layer 20 by using a direct current power for the chromium targets 23. Magnetron sputtering of the CrN layer 30 is implemented in the coating chamber 21. The substrate 10 in the coating chamber 21 is heated to about 70° C.-130° C. Nitrogen (N₂) may be used as a reaction gas and is fed into the coating chamber 21 at a flow rate of about 10 sccm-20 sccm. Argon gas may be used as a working gas and is fed into the coating chamber 21 at a flow rate of about 20 sccm-50 sccm. The direct current power is applied to the chromium targets 23, and then chromium atoms are sputtered off from the chromium targets 23. The chromium atoms and nitrogen atoms are ionized in an electrical field in the coating chamber 21. The ionized chromium then chemically reacts with the ionized nitrogen to deposit the CrN layer 30 on the combining layer 20. During the depositing process, the substrate 10 may have a direct current bias voltage of about −50 V to about −150 V. Depositing of the CrN layer 30 may take about 2 min-3 min.

One of the Cu—Zn alloy layers 40 may be magnetron sputtered on the CrN layer 30 by using a radio frequency power for the Cu—Zn alloy targets 25. The Cu within the Cu—Zn alloy target 25 has a mass percentage of about 80%-90%. Magnetron sputtering of the Cu—Zn alloy layer 40 is implemented in the coating chamber 21. The substrate 10 in the coating chamber 21 is heated to about 70° C.-130° C. Argon gas may be used as a working gas and is fed into the coating chamber 21 at a flow rate of about 20 sccm-50 sccm. The radio frequency power is applied to the Cu—Zn alloy targets 25, and then Cu atoms and Zn atoms are sputtered off from the Cu—Zn alloy targets 25 to deposit the Cu—Zn alloy layer 40 on the CrN layer 30. During the depositing process, the substrate 10 may have a coupled pulse bias voltage of about −180 V to about −350 V. The coupled pulse bias voltage has a pulse frequency of about 10 KHz and a pulse width of about 20 μs. Depositing of the Cu—Zn alloy layer 40 may take about 2 min-3 min.

The steps of magnetron sputtering the CrN layer 30 and the Cu—Zn alloy layer 40 are repeated for about 3-19 times to form the coated article 100. In this embodiment, one more CrN layer 30 may be vacuum sputtered on the Cu—Zn alloy layer 40 and the CrN layer 30 forms the outermost layer of the coated article 100.

It is believed that the exemplary embodiment and its advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure or sacrificing all of its advantages, the examples hereinbefore described merely being preferred or exemplary embodiment of the disclosure. 

1. A coated article, comprising: a substrate; a combining layer formed on the substrate, the combining layer being a chromium layer; and a plurality of alternating chromium nitride and copper-zinc alloy layers formed on the combining layer.
 2. The coated article as claimed in claim 1, wherein one of the chromium nitride layers is directly formed on the combining layer; one of the chromium nitride layers forms an outermost layer of the coated article.
 3. The coated article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the substrate is made of stainless steel or chromium contained alloys.
 4. The coated article as claimed in claim 1, wherein each chromium nitride layer is formed by vacuum sputtering and has a thickness of about 50 nm-100 nm.
 5. The coated article as claimed in claim 1, wherein each copper-zinc alloy layer is formed by vacuum sputtering and has a thickness of about 200 nm-300 nm.
 6. The coated article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chromium nitride layers and the copper-zinc alloy layers have a total thickness of about 1 μm-8 μm.
 7. The coated article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the combining layer is formed by vacuum sputtering and has a thickness of about 100 nm-200 nm.
 8. The coated article as claimed in claim 1, wherein the chromium nitride layers have porous structure.
 9. The coated article as claimed in claim 8, wherein each copper-zinc alloy layer has a portion that imbeds in the porous structure of the adjacent chromium nitride layers.
 10. The coated article as claimed in claim 1, wherein total number of the chromium nitride layers are about 5 layers to about 21 layers, and total number of the copper-zinc alloy layers are about 4 layers to about 20 layers.
 11. A method for making a coated article, comprising: providing a substrate; forming a combining layer on the substrate, the combining layer being a chromium layer; forming a chromium nitride layer on the combining layer by vacuum sputtering, using nitrogen as a reaction gas and using a chromium target; forming a copper-zinc alloy layer on the chromium nitride layer by vacuum sputtering, using copper-zinc alloy target; and repeating the steps of alternatingly forming the chromium nitride layer and the copper-zinc alloy layer to form the coated article.
 12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein forming the chromium nitride layer is by using a magnetron sputtering method; the nitrogen has a flow rate of about 10 sccm-20 sccm; magnetron sputtering of the chromium nitride layer uses argon as a working gas, the argon has a flow rate of about 20 sccm-50 sccm; magnetron sputtering of the chromium nitride layer is conducted at a temperature of about 70° C.-130° C. and takes about 2 min-3 min.
 13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein the substrate has a direct current bias voltage of about −50V to about −150V during magnetron sputtering of the chromium nitride layer.
 14. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein forming the copper-zinc alloy layer is by using a magnetron sputtering method; the copper-zinc alloy target contains copper having a mass percentage of about 80%-90%; magnetron sputtering of the copper-zinc alloy layer uses argon as a working gas, the argon has a flow rate of about 20 sccm-50 sccm; magnetron sputtering of the copper-zinc alloy layer is conducted at a temperature of about 70° C.-130° C. and takes about 2 min-3 min.
 15. The method as claimed in claim 14, wherein the substrate has a coupled pulse bias voltage of about −180V to about −350V during magnetron sputtering of the copper-zinc alloy layer, the coupled pulse bias voltage has a pulse frequency of about 10 KHz and a pulse width of about 20 μs.
 16. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein forming the combining layer is by using a magnetron sputtering method, uses chromium target, uses argon as a working gas, the argon has a flow rate of about 100 sccm-300 sccm; magnetron sputtering of the combining layer is conducted at a temperature of about 80° C.-150° C. and takes about 5 min-10 min.
 17. The method as claimed in claim 16, wherein the substrate has a bias voltage of about −50V to about −150V during magnetron sputtering of the combining layer.
 18. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the step of repeating the forming of the chromium nitride layer and the copper-zinc alloy layer is carried out for about three times to about nineteen times.
 19. The method as claimed in claim 18, further comprising a step of forming a chromium nitride layer on the copper-zinc alloy layer by vacuum sputtering after the step of repeating the forming of the chromium nitride layer and the copper-zinc alloy layer.
 20. The method as claimed in claim 11, further comprising a step of pre-treating the substrate before forming the combining layer, the pre-treating process comprises ultrasonic cleaning the substrate and plasma cleaning the substrate. 